SANDY, Utah (ABC4 News) - Unemployment claims are continuing to grow this morning but there is one career that says it's been unaffected by the tough economy. In fact, the business of beauty is booming.
At Echelon Edge Academy in Sandy instructors always have a captive audience. Their students want to be cosmetologists. The career has been Joie Mascone's dream for years.
"Ever since I was little, I put makeup on my animals. I did my own hair and you know, it's always been so much fun for me," Mascone says.
Beyond fun, Mascone may be making a smart move. Jobs in the beauty business have not just weathered the economic downturn, they've grown. Cosmetology has been called one of the top jobs in the nation right now and demand through 2010 is expected to increase by twenty percent.
Also expected next year? The demand for nail techs to grow by up to thirty-five percent. Experts credit the popularity of make over programming on tv, the interest in anti-aging and a new generation of people who are looking for a new career.
"It's never going to go away. We are always in demand. We're always there and we will always be busy," Rachel Downward from Echelon Edge Academy says.
That's good news for Mascone and her fellow students, all of whom will be graduating soon.
"I look on the classifieds every single day and there's constantly stuff available, booth rent, nail techs, salons massage therapists. Tons of stuff in the beauty industry."
The business of helping people look good, has never looked better.
Depending on the geographic region and area of expertise, the American Association of Cosmetology says graduating students can expect a starting salary of around fifty thousand dollars a year, excluding tips.
